How to book a hotel yourself: complete instructions

In this article, we will tell you how to book a hotel on your own and what to pay attention to first. We will also figure out how not to overpay, find comfortable rooms and what to do if you want to cancel your booking without a penalty.

How to book a hotel yourself: 9 steps

The most convenient way is to use special aggregator websites. These sites present hundreds of hotels in each country, there are convenient filters with the possibility to choose by city, dates and accommodation conditions, cost.

Step 1. Register on the booking service

As a rule, booking is available 24 hours a day by phone or online via websites. To do this, you need to register at the hotel booking service. We advise you to use only verified services with a reliable reputation, such as Booking.com or Airbnb.

Booking.com

Airbnb

To figure out how to book a hotel room online is not difficult, if you prepare all the necessary information and documents in advance. Be sure to indicate the real email address, the one the code will be sent to, you will need it when checking into the hotel.

When you set up a profile on the aggregator site, specify the address and your current phone number. This will help the hotel to contact you in order to offer a better room for the same price, for example.

Many hotels are prepaid. If this option is suitable for you, keep your bank card details on hand. The card can also be attached to your profile on the site when registering. .

All major hotel booking aggregator sites have a language change icon. It is usually in the upper right corner. Change the language to the most convenient right before you start in order to objectively assess all available offers.

Read also: Travel Apps: Top 11 Best

Step 2. Learn about taxes

In almost all countries, taxes and fees are included in the cost of living. But in Italy, France, the USA and some other states, this amount is shown in a separate line. Therefore, if you don’t know exactly how to book a hotel without paying in advance abroad, be prepared that the total amount can sometimes be more than that on the site.

Aggregator sites usually inform about taxes and fees. But unlike the room rate, these amounts are often written in small letters, because it is easier to sell a room when the amount payable looks smaller.

Step 3. Read about deposit freezing

If you enter your credit or debit card data with a sufficient balance amount before booking a hotel, they may freeze part of the funds. Usually, the hotel administration does this for safety purposes, for example, to cover the cost of broken household appliances or furniture.

If everything is well, the money is returned upon departure. When booking, there is a way to avoid freezing the deposit, and we will definitely talk about it in this article.

It is recommended that you read about the amount and rules of freezing the deposit in advance. Additionally, the conditions of accommodation are often indicated in the letter confirming the reservation.

Aggregator sites are loyal to this behavior of hotel administrations. Therefore, if the deposit freezing takes you by surprise, you will not be able to return the money before the due date.

Step 4. Check the hotel mandatory services list

For example, in large hotels, housekeeping and even utilities are included in the room price. But the owners of small apartments or guest houses show these services in a separate invoice line.

Sometimes the cost of electricity and water is asked to be paid separately according to the meter. Don't be surprised to be asked to take out garbage or wash the dishes - this is a common thing in many countries.

Step 5. Find out about additional services that are important to you

For example, hotels either include in the room price or offer to use a luggage storage room, a safe, a gym, a swimming pool or parking for an additional fee. Check the list of additional services in advance so that the absence of an important detail does not spoil a long-awaited vacation or a business trip.

Step 6. Breakfast conditions

Make sure breakfast is included in the room rate. This is especially important if you plan to have breakfast in the hotel every morning. Therefore, before you safely book a hotel, we advise you to think twice and refuse rooms with breakfast which are too cheap. After all, as a rule, the quality of food directly depends on the class of the hotel.

Step 7. Learn about the commission

Very often, when paying for a room with a card, you spend an additional % of the amount. This is because smaller hotels redirect the commission to the customer. In case you refuse to pay the commission, they ask you to pay in cash. For many aggregator sites, this is not a violation, because the amount of the commission is often written in the "Notes" or "Terms" sections. We recommend that you carefully study them before booking a hotel abroad.

This approach will help optimize costs, especially if you go on a long trip abroad.

Read also: How to plan a trip yourself: 8 tips

Step 8. Clarify the check in and check out time

We recommend that you clarify the check-in and check-out time in advance. In small hotels, the reception does not work 24/7, and check-in or check-out at non-standard time is an additional cost for a guest. Depending on the level of the hotel, they may require an additional payment of several tens of dollars or even more. Some hotels have self check-in machines.

By installing the Yesim application, you will get access to the internet worldwide. The operator offers favorable rates for the time spent abroad and the amount of traffic.

Step 9. Learn the penalty system

The most common penalties are booking cancellation fees, non-refundable bookings, and no-show cancellation fees.

There is often a specific deadline for cancellation penalties. If you do not cancel the reservation within this period, the money is written off automatically. Usually, the grace period lasts from 1 to 30 days. But large hotels give only a few days to cancel the booking The amount of the fine also differs - from the price of accommodation per day to the cost of the whole booked period.

Hotels often offer 10-15% discounts for accommodation for non-refundable bookings. It is beneficial if you are 100% sure that you will arrive. If for some reason you change your mind, the entire cost of living will be written off from your bank card, for example, for a week.

It is possible to negotiate with some hotels in such cases, but every case is individual and personal contact is needed via the aggregator site. A blocked or zero amount card does not save you from a non-refundable booking. The law is on the side of the hotel and if you do not agree, the money still has to be returned.

If you book via aggregator sites, then they always have general information about the cancellation policy and the penalty system. For example, Airbnb has a page on this topic: How to decide your cancellation policy.

The penalty for non arrival on the due day and time is often automatically assigned. Hotels treat this as a default cancellation. Planning will help to avoid unpleasant situations. It is better to arrive an hour early and walk around the city than to explain to the hotel management that you are just late, and did not change your mind about checking in or decided to cancel your reservation.

Sometimes it is possible to warn about being late in the hotel chat, by messenger or by e-mail. The main thing is to write during working hours, as not all reception desks work 24 hours a day.

How to cancel a booking in a hotel without penalty

Consider the following recommendations:

1. When canceling a booking, please inform the hotel administration about your decision as soon as possible. 2. Always read the booking rules carefully. If you often change your plans, book rooms in hotels that do not require fines for late arrivals or not showing up. 3. Feel free to ask questions to an administrator online and offline. It is better to clarify all the points in advance than to figure out later who and why wrote off a certain amount from your bank card. 4. Use the universal rule - cancel your reservation at least 24 hours before arrival to the hotel. Many large hotel chains and small companies follow this rule and do not mind canceling a reservation a day before a guest's arrival. 5. Just in case, keep all receipts and letters confirming the cancellation of the reservation. Usually they are sent by e-mail and can be useful in disputable situations. 6. Don't book a hotel just to get a visa. Yes, consulates do require hotel reservations as insurance. But hotel administrations also regularly provide information about guests to the migration authorities. And if it turns out that you have not checked into the booked hotel, this is fraught with visa cancellation.

How not to overpay when booking a hotel

Here are a few recommendations tested in practice by experienced travelers:

1. Book only online - the price online is always lower. If you just ask at the reception, the administrator can offer a price 30-50% higher than the one indicated on the site. 2. Do not book a hotel through bulletin boards or forums. On such resources small owners offer their services, which, due to bad reviews, simply can no longer be placed on large sites. 3. The number of stars is not a reason to pay more. It only means that there are additional options: a swimming pool, a playground, fitness, a pet walking area. The main thing when choosing a room is customer reviews. 4. When booking abroad, please enter the price in the currency of the hotel. This will help to avoid additional conversion charges when paying with a bank card. 5. In order not to overpay for expensive excursions, divide the trip into several parts. Book a room for one or more days near each attraction of interest to you. If you visit different locations from one place in the form of excursions, you will spend much more money. 6. Find a site with discounts on offers of different hotels and choose the best option. Just enter the dates you need and make sure that booking through discounters is much more profitable than directly on official websites.

Now you know how to book a hotel on your own and even cancel a reservation with minimal costs. And by installing the Yesim application. You can always stay connected and use the available internet in the most of countries of the world.

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